Sino-U.S. Economic Ties

Caixin

May 19

Jacob Lew, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury who has been in the office for only 15 months, paid his third visit to China since taking office. The visit was a preparation for the coming Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) between China and the United States in early July. Before departing China, Jacob had an exclusive interview with Caixin magazine.

He talked about the exchange rate of yuan, China's economic prospects, the condition of the U.S. financial sector, the IMF quota reform, and the advance of the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), among other topics.

Jacob said that it's important to make clear the differences in Sino-U.S. economic and trade

issues and to look for common ground. The two countries can have an exchange of views on issues of mutual concern thereby highlighting the necessity of dialogues.

He said that progress should be made in strengthening the market's dominant role in areas like exchange rates, market access and fair competition. In the past year, the two countries have conducted a lot of candid talks, concerning subjects such as how to encourage more U.S. investment to China and vice versa, and how to open the market for free commodity trade. He said it is clear that further progress can be expected.

He believes that the success of S&ED is marked by clear steps toward the goal. He hoped to see progress in S&ED in terms of economic issues and also with regard to climate issues and in strategic areas.

Disaster Relief

Outlook Weekly

May 19

Due to global climate change, we are facing natural disasters more and more frequently. As a country of vast territory, China is faced with all kinds of challenges in terms of the natural and social risks related to natural disasters.

Traditionally, disaster relief and management depends on the government's administrative mobilization. This is a highly efficient operational mode in the time soon after disasters happen, but in the aftermath, a number of problems will emerge, such as relief fund embezzlement and unfair assisting policies. The overdependence on administrative resources is already out of date and China now urgently needs a state crisis management system including insurance.

After years of exploration, China's disaster insurance system remains at square one, where we find the government is still "conducting research," local governments are conducting pilot programs and companies are hesitating. Many factors have led to this, such as in-fighting among government departments, the hindrance of outdated thinking, and the lack of legislation and policies.

It's thus necessary to have a high-level coordinating institution and make a clear timetable for all branches of work. The government is not supposed to play the major role, but its role is limited in disaster relief. The market, or insurance companies, should take the major responsibility while reconstruction in the aftermath of a disaster should be left to the public.

Extra Points for High Morality

Nanfang Daily

May 28

With the approach of this year's annual national college entrance examination, or gaokao, a piece of news is spreading like wildfire across the country. The change in the bonus points policy for some participants in the examination has attracted much attention, particularly, the newly added "morality points."

Originally, the extra point policy was intended to make up for the disadvantage of the "score-centered" mode. However, this policy has been found to have been misused. As a result, this policy has been the subject of increasing doubt and is losing its credibility.

According to the Ministry of Education, the extra bonus points to the gaokao scores of students of high moral standards and heroic feats has always existed. The new round of gaokao reform aims to get rid of the old "score-centered" mode, although the score remains the most important reference, and a comprehensive assessment mode will be adopted. Students' score in the gaokao will cease to be the sole criterion. Students' overall performance during senior middle school will be taken into account, including their moral standards, extracurricular activities and social volunteer work. The reform may take a long time to implement, but at least it has a clear direction to in which to go.

High moral standards are something a young student is supposed to possess in our modern society, and it's thus important to internalize this quality within a scientific assessment system, which is supposed to steer young students toward polishing their daily behaviors and improving their personal moral standards. The diversified assessment system is thus an important goal for China's gaokao reform.